Wednesday, June 28, 2017

THOR GOD OF THUNDER #18 features a self-contained story that is both literature and fine art simultaneously. It is both comedic and dramatic. It has plot twists and character development. You don't have to have any prior knowledge of Thor or Marvel Universe History to appreciate it. It takes place over one week's time in 894 in a Viking village and Asgard.

The cover is by Esad Ribic, one of Marvel's many talented painters. He manages photo realism while still having his own distinct style, a style that is produced by color selection and layout rather than visual stunts or quirks.

The interior art is by Das Pastoras, an artist that exemplifies the difference between 21st Century and the 20th Century Marvel. The former embraces diversity rather than boxing the creators into a House Style like the latter. I will not say anything more about this issue because it would cause me sorrow to think that I diminished anybody's enjoyment of this gem by saying too much.

Friday, June 23, 2017

Marvel waited 8 years to reprint THOR #143 in MARVEL SPECTACULAR #14. By
then, to stay profitable, they had raised the price of their books and cut the
page count by one. Fortunately a full-page pin-up of Odin with a voice-over by
Thor explaining who Odin is wasn't vital to the plot.